Evening Bulletin

JONES' TRIAL MAY BE NEXT YEAR

Edward Mitchell Jones, charged with the murder of the wife who divorced him, Linka K. Jones, appeared in Judge De Bolt's criminal court at 10 o'clock this morning, presumably for trial.

Attorney General Lorrin Andrews and Deputy Attorney General E. C. Peters were present for the Territory.

A. G. M. Robertson and J. J. Dunne appeared for the defense.

Prosecution announced its readiness to proceed with the trial at once.

"Where is the jury?" asked Robertson.

Judge De Bolt had excused his trial jurors until Wednesday morning next.

Prosecution announced its readiness to proceed Wednesday morning

Robertson, in view of numerous cases in which he was interested coming on in Federal Court and in view of other cases of his, in other courts and, also, in consideration of the fact that he would have to leave Honolulu about the end of this month, asked that the case be continued for the term. There would be difficulties attached to securing a jury, he said, as was the case when the matter came on for trial at last term and ended in a fizzle because a jury could not be obtained. Besides, at the end of last term, the prosecution had stated that at the beginning of this term it would move for immediate hearing; at the commencement of the present term the Territory had asked for a postponement. This had rather upset the defense's calculations.

Andrews contested the idea of putting the matter over until next term, September. The defense had demanded a speedy trial and now they wanted further delay. Peters suggested that the matter of an open venire would still bear investigation as to its legality. If this year's jury panel of 250 men was disqualified, there was still the possibility of an open venire, the legality of which might be taken under consideration by the court. This could be done at this term as well as at the next.

Judge De Bolt was of the impression that if no trial could be had with the present panel of jurors there was no sense in putting the case over until next term. The same panel would be serving then. The cause might better be continued until the January, 1905, term, when a new lot of jurors would be in service.

Prosecution did not like the idea of the case going over until next year.

After considerable argument one way and another the case was at last set for Wednesday morning for final disposition. In the meanwhile Judge De Bolt will consider the open venire proposition.

In August of last year Jones is said to have shot and killed his wife and mother-in-law. He was tried and acquitted on the mother-in-law charge.

Last term trial came on in the wife charge.

After two or three weeks of expense the attempt to get a jury proved unsuccessful.

Incidentally, some seventy men out of the 250 on the 1904 panel, are legally disqualified. Concerning this, correspondence between the circuit judges and the jury commissioners has already appeared in these columns.